Organ on a Chip Research Group

The OOC Research Group at Brunel is an interdisciplinary team of academics developing tools to get a better understanding of diseases and develop new treatments for common health conditions.

The group incorporates engineers, life scientists and toxicologists. We have expertise in microfluidics, biomaterials and computational fluid dynamics. Class 1000 cleanroom facility for fabricating fluidic devices. Rapid prototyping facilities for creation of devices and systems in house. The life scientists have expertise in cell and tissue culture, microbial ecology and cancer specialists. The group has a bioinformatician for in silico studies. The group has class II biological laboratories for undertaking microbial work, PCR and sequencing. The human toxicology team has been investigating the role of chemicals and endocrine disruptors on cancer progression for a number of years. Their work now looks at both single and mixtures of chemicals and how these effect cells.

Current Projects

OOC Scaffolds

In this project, we aim to optimise and standardise scaffolds for in-house OOC systems, through the creation and assessment of different materials and manufacturing techniques so that the OOC technology can be validated as an alternative pre-clinical model to animals within the research industry. Within this project electrospinning and 3D printing will be used to produce scaffolds of varying architecture with different hydrogels to optimise parameters for different cell types.

Breast on a Chip

A project funded by Breast Cancer UK investigating the ‘Multifactorial impacts on early breast carcinogenesis – assessing the combined effects of preventable factors on breast cancer using a novel Organ-On-a-Chip platform.’ The alarming incidence of breast cancer worldwide cannot be explained solely by hereditary factors. Evidence suggests that extrinsic factors, such lifestyle and environmental contaminants (e.g. endocrine disrupting chemicals, EDCs), play a role in breast cancer development, but research linking EDCs to cancer is currently inconclusive. This is mainly due to the fact that most EDCs are studied individually at concentrations that don’t reflect realistic exposures. However, we are exposed to a large cocktail of chemicals, some of which may have an effect when acting together. We use an innovative Organ-On-a-Chip tool that integrates a flow-through system and three-dimensional in vitro breast cell cultures. By using this model, which closely resembles the breast tissue in women, we study how mixtures of EDCs present in human tissues acts together with lifestyle factors to affect breast cancer risk.

Vagina on a Chip

The overarching objective of this project, is to develop the lower female reproductive tract within an organ-on-a-chip system. This will create an in-vitro micro vaginal tissue which can mimic the in-vivo organ. The tissue will incorporate structures seen in the vaginal wall, including a stratified squamous epithelium with microvilli, tight junctions, microfolds and mucus. BV is the most common vaginal infection in women of reproductive age. It has been shown to affect up to 50% of the female population in the developing world and up to 33% of women in the developed world.

Organ on a Chip Systems

As a group we are interested in low cost manufacturing methods, microfluidics and sensors. If you are interested in developing low cost OOC systems for research use please get in touch.

Members of the OOC Research Group

Life Sciences: Dr Manos Karteris, Dr Ashley Houlden, Dr Sibylle Ermler, Dr Cristina Sisu, Prof. Amanda Harvery, Dr Gudrun Steinbeck, Dr Camilla Cerutti

Engineering: Dr Bin Zhang, Dr Carola Koenig, Dr Bin Wang and Prof. Wamadeva Balachandran.

Visiting Researcher: Dr Elisabete Silva (The Francis Crick Institute)

PhD Students and Alumni of the OOC Research Group

Current Students: Shuai Qiao, Gideon Enima (Dr Silva and Dr Karteris), Amal Tamayoi (Dr Harvey), Diyani Vispute (Dr Steinbeck)

Alumni: Dr Aya Aly, Dr Luana Osorio, Dr Sean Cullen, Dr Rachel Kerslake (Dr Karteris), Dr Sara Gomes (Dr Silva), Dr Angel Naveenathayalan